Armed with an English degree and a ton of youthful energy and enthusiasm (and big hair), Laura fell into the investment world. After a few years of trading stocks and options for a small local firm, she discovered financial planning and completed the CFP® program, embracing a more comprehensive approach to managing money and financial matters.
Laura launches her own firm, becoming a Registered Investment Advisor. Working 60+ hour weeks, she was also teaching CFP® classes in the evenings, and became the Program Director at UCI, where she ended up staying for 20 years. As the firm added clients, Laura recruited employees who were her top students in the CFP® program. In 1990, the firm became one of the first firms to go “fee-only” – no more product sales. Farewell to the “dark side”!
Celebrating 20 years in business, the firm name was changed and Tarbox continued to grow. Key team members, active in the professional community, helped the firm gain national recognition and add great clients from around the country. As the pace of change in the world and the financial services industry continued to accelerate, Tarbox focused on developing human capital and adopting state-of-the-art technology to better serve clients.
As Tarbox grew, clients grew with us. Some of our clients experienced significant liquidity events which necessitated the addition of more sophisticated services and expertise from the firm. Furthermore, as brokerage companies and banks continued to advertise that they were comprehensive “wealth managers” (even though their focus remained on product sales rather than financial planning), Tarbox sought to differentiate by highlighting its fiduciary approach and family office services provided. The hands-on, deeply integrated and customized services offered to a relatively small number of families (about 100) from an experienced and highly credentialed team distinguishes Tarbox as what is known in the industry as a “multi-family office”. Over the years, our core values have remained the same. We look forward to the future and continuing to evolve, adding key people, services, and capabilities as we prepare to meet the challenges and opportunities ahead.
